Police here on Monday dismissed rumours of inter-state gangs are on the prowl in the district. The police appealed to the people not believe the rumours.

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​Mahbubnagar: Police here on Monday dismissed rumours of inter-state gangs are on the prowl in the district. The police appealed to the people not believe the rumours.

Fear has gripped the villagers in Nagarkurnool, Wanaparthy, Gadwal and Mahbubnagar districts as rumours have it that inter-state gangs are on the prowl to commit crimes like kidnapping the children and burglaries.

To ally the fears, Mahbubnagar Superintendent of Police B Anuradha appealed to the people not fall prey to rumours being spread through social media. She assured the people that the police are on the alert round-the-clock to provide security.

The police said they had conducted a thorough investigation into the reports that some criminal gangs had committed crimes and kidnapped children. They said there was no truth in the rumours spread in Chennampally, Petralchen, Vonkeshwarma and other areas.

It may be recalled that local people at the Housing Board Colony in Jadcherla assaulted a stranger, suspecting him to be a kidnapper. In an another in, residents in Gandeed mandal in Mahabubnagar district thrashed four strangers, mistaking them for child abductors. The police had to intervene to rescue the strangers from being lynched, the police said.

Circle inspector of Mahbubnagar Kishan said the people, who bore the brunt of the attack, hailed from Ranga Reddy district. He said a minor herding cattle hurt himself to shirk work and told his parents that a group of unidentified persons had tried to abduct him.

Gadwal Superintendent of Police Rema Rajeshwari also appealed to the people not believe the rumours being spread through social media.